IS Bombers Kill 11 in Turkey

Turkish police officers work at the scene of a blast just after an explosion in Istanbul yesterday.

ISTANBUL (AP):

A car bomb struck a police vehicle in Istanbul during rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 others in what marks the fourth bombing to hit the Turkish city this year.

There was no immediate responsibility claim but Turkey has witnessed an increase in violence linked to Kurdish rebels and Islamic State (IS) militants.

Speaking at the scene of the blast in Beyazit district, Istanbul governor, Vasip Sahin, said a bomb placed inside a car detonated as a police vehicle passed by. The dead included seven police officers and four civilians, he said. At least three of the wounded were in serious condition.

Sahin declined to comment on who may be behind the attack and authorities imposed a news blackout preventing media from reporting details of the probe, citing concerns over security and police and forensic efforts to investigate the attack.

Recent Istanbul attacks have targeted security forces and tourism sites, contributing to a sharp dip in tourism and taking a toll on the economy.

Tuesday's bomb went off in a bustling Istanbul neighbourhood just north of the iconic Golden Horn, where the Bosphorus Strait meets the Sea of Marmara. The area is home to the offices of provincial authorities, three universities and ancient sites including Roman-era aqueducts.

FORCE OF THE BLAST

The police bus was flipped over by the force of the blast, which also damaged nearby buildings, among them a closed hotel whose entrance appeared gutted and windows were blown out. The blast also shattered the stained glass windows of a famous 16th-century Ottoman mosque, Sehzadebasi.

It wrecked several cars and forced the cancellation of some exams at nearby Istanbul University.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited some of the wounded at Istanbul's Haseki hospital, where two people were undergoing surgery.

"These (attacks) are being carried out against people whose duty it is to ensure the security of our people. These cannot be pardoned or forgiven. We shall continue our fight against terrorists fearlessly and tirelessly until the end," he told reporters outside the hospital.